Here's Some Advice For Those Of You Wanting To Know How To Win At Video Poker

By Dean Evert

With the way our society is structured these days, with technology becoming our new best buddy; a lot of people prefer playing games singlehandedly against a machine that used to be played around a table with many players involved and lots of personal interaction. Video poker is one of those games; many folks prefer the one on one interaction with a video machine rather than the playing table; and learning how to win at video poker has become a priority with many players.

Well, just because you are parked in front of a machine, doesn't mean there aren't rules and regulations to be followed; quite the opposite. To be a good player and someone who walks away with some cash in their pockets now and then; you have to learn how to win at video poker and learn it well. The basic strategy is that the game is based on a 52 card deck with some games of poker requiring the jokers thrown in. The play begins with the machine dealing randomly to you 5 cards; you examine them, mark the ones you want to hold, and then discard the rest. The machine deals you replacement cards for the ones you discarded, and you are paid according to what 5 cards you are left holding and their poker value.

One of the most important parts of any poker playing strategy, especially when you are trying to learn how to win at video poker; is to learn to get over the hump of just playing one coin at a time. That will get you nowhere but broke: do like the best video poker players and consistent winners do---always bet the max allowed. A good strategy is needed if you are going to win at this game, and not only will playing the max get you there, but also learning what to do with every kind of hand you are dealt. There is a lot of reading material available out there that will tell you just how to proceed in betting depending on what you are initially dealt, and this is invaluable to the beginning player. Finally, in building a play strategy, learn how the payouts work and find a liberal pay table to play so you can make the most of what you know.

One major hump that a lot of newbies have to get over when they are first learning how to win at video poker is to just let go and bet the max allowed on every hand----there is good reasoning behind doing this; mainly because the more you bet, the more you win; but also---there is a little something called "An Economy of Scale". In dealing with the payouts on winning a Royal Flush, for example, this is very obvious on how betting the max is a much better choice to make. Say, for example you bet 4 coins and you end up with a Royal Flush-----on most boards you would win 1000; but say you had bet 5 coins (the max)---now you would win 4000. Big difference a coin makes.

Learning how to win at video poker is not that hard, really; it just takes serious application and lots of practice until you have all the winning factors learned and can apply them to your advantage no matter what the machine hands you. And to keep track of all this play and money spent, you should always use a player card and make sure the machine you are using is tallying everything you spend point for point. The reason for this is that the house has no way of knowing what you are spending unless you provide a money trail for them to follow and calculate; and it is only then that you can take advantage of all the perks and comps that the house offers the bigger players. Every penny that you spend on any machine is rewarded with points, and these points can be turned in for free play or other comps. And, as opposed to what a lot of uninformed folks out there will try to sell you; using a player card does not make the machine payout worse---it has no effect on the odds whatsoever.

Once you seriously take all the rules and strategies to heart while you are learning how to win at video poker, you will become very aware of the pay out tables on the various machines and can use those tables to your betterment, both in factual learning and in monetary reimbursement. Most of the tables are very much alike in the fact that there is very little difference in payouts except for a full house and a flush; it seems to be the middle hands that have the most variance. There is a very jam packed site online that will give you a lot of info on how to interpret these payout tables and how to use them to improve your strategy for playing; it's called vpfree2.com, and you will find it very helpful.

Learning how to win at video poker has become a pastime for a lot of folks these days; folks who want the thrill and monetary gain of playing poker with all its perks and nuances, but they don't want to be subjected to the psychological influences of having to deal with a table full of players, all pushing their own agenda to win the game. Video poker is a lot of fun and can be very exciting once you learn what you are doing and how to actually play the game to your best advantage; and you are one on one with an impartial machine that you can play to your heart's content, and hopefully to your wallet's content too.

About the Author: